17 October 2007

If this isn't a reason to be wary of doing the right thing, this would be it. Typically the idea of volunteering is to give back to the community. You wouldn't expect to get beat up while coaching a youth baseball team, but I guess now we've seen it all.

An 11-year-old baseball player upset over being benched for cursing in batting practice called his father, who drove to a Bellmore ball field, rushed the mound and, with his brother, pummeled the coach, sending him to the hospital, police said Wednesday.

As usual, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as the Brothers Basile were arrested and charged with third-degree assault on Tuesday. As for the poor coach, he suffered a concussion and injuries to the neck and back. The description that follows is incomprehensible, except perhaps as part of a Sopranos episode.

After receiving the call on his cell phone, Frank Basile drove from work to the field with his brother and a friend. As he rushed toward Edge, the coach motioned for his players to clear out.

Police said the older Basile punched Edge in the side of the head, causing him to drop to his knees. He was struck again and fell to the ground, blacking out as he was repeatedly punched and kicked, police and his lawyer said.

Nobody deserves to be treated like that, especially a volunteer coach of five years. I can only imagine that the Basile child's teachers are very, very scared about their forthcoming parent-teacher conferences. Security!!